Salisbury Playhouse – until Sunday 13th January 2019
Reviewed by Leanne Caplis
5*****(and more)
Wiltshire Creative brings to the stage the timeless love story that is Beauty and the Beast.
The pantomime links to the iconic fairy tale classic but writer, Andrew Pollard’s adaption is that of three love stories; Amorette (Liberty Buckland) is imprisoned by the Beast (Joseph Black). Will love blossom and the beast turn back into a Prince before the final rose petal falls? Souffle (Nerine Skinner) is Amorette’s chavtastic sister who, apparently knowing all there is about men, is still to find true love. Will her encounters with Cupid (Alex Wadham) help him lose his Cupid wings and both find their happily ever after? The final story is that of Dame Betty Bon Bon (Richard Ede) and Monsieur Marzipan. Will Betty’s sweetie delights entice the sugar making Marzipan into her arms? All will be revealed….
Upon entering the house the bright, colourful and glitter-tastic stage immediately stands out and this excellence is maintained throughout. The use of lighting, sounds and special effects are magnificent and all the costumes are marvellous, especially those of Betty Bon Bon. More associated with a West End production, the creative and production teams deserve a special mention.
The first half of the show was outstanding; the acting, singing, humour (both adult and child appropriate) audience participation and up to date links with modern day were spot on! The clever use of well-known songs and TV programmes saw the audience being able to relate well to the developing storyline. It’s not every day you see a cream pie fight using Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmare sketches or the Baby Shark song used in a pantomime, but it worked remarkably well.
I thought the show, at almost three hours with the interval, was slightly too long. The first half went in a flash however there were moments of the second half that could have been shortened. I’d have liked to see more of the Beast but these were very small negatives that I found difficult to pin-point.
Although unable to pick one stand out star for this show, the two worthy of mention are Dame Betty Bon Bon and Souffle. The Dame was hilarious and had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand and Souffle’s acting was impeccable with her dabbing, hash tagging and flossing all adding to her performance.
For those who think pantomime is just for kids – I challenge you to think again! I smiled from start to finish, found myself shouting out ‘Hello Betty Bon Bon’, ‘he’s behind you’ and singing along to the Christmas songs in the interval.
This show is a delight, a first-class production that will put you firmly in the Christmas mood from the very first moment. Do you want to miss this show?…….. “oooooooooooooo noooooo you don’t!”